France will never allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, its ambassador to Israel said in a Bastille Day address at his official Jaffa residence on Wednesday evening.
“There should never be an atomic bomb under a mullah’s rule,” declared Eric Dannon, speaking in French at the July 14 ceremony, which was attended by President Isaac Herzog and Justice Minister Gideon Saar.
Rather than a light speech focused on culture and history – typical fare for such an occasion – Dannon chose to offer a strong affirmation of French-Israeli relations and a joint effort to fight mutual security threats.
“We may disagree on this method at times,” he continued, “but we stand together to fight together against nuclear risk, the ballistic missile threat and Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region, and most of all. First in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.”
Negotiations between Iran and the world powers known as P5+1 on the withdrawal of Tehran and Washington on the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal continue in Vienna, although the two sides have not been able to resolve key issues.
The JCPOA is only concerned with Iran’s nuclear program, but Israel and several Sunni Arab states want any future agreements with Iran to also address issues highlighted by the Danone-Tehran missile program and the use of proxy forces throughout the region. do.
An Israeli firefighter walks next to cars hit by a missile fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Shalit)
The ambassador also pointed the finger at Hamas for the 11-day Gaza conflict in May, emphasizing that “the highest French authorities have clearly held Hamas to be responsible for the recent war in Gaza, as they have accused Israel of self-defense.” The right is emphasized within the framework of international law.
With a change of government in Jerusalem in June, both France and Israel have expressed their willingness to move on from tensions that were more frequent during the Benjamin Netanyahu era relations.
Culture Minister Chile Trooper met with her French counterpart Rosaline Bachelot in Cannes last week to discuss joining Israel’s Creative Europe programme. Israel’s ascension into Creative Europe will allow it to raise up to millions of euros for arts and cultural initiatives.
during the foreign minister Yair Lapid’s visit to Brussels this week, France expressed its desire to resume the annual Association Council meetings between Israel and the European Union for the first time since 2012.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with 26 EU foreign ministers in Brussels on July 12, 2021. (European Union)
Dannon also reaffirmed Paris’ commitment to fighting anti-Semitism, with several prominent members of the French-Israeli community in attendance.
He pointed to the presence of Jonathan Haleimi, whose mother Sarah was murdered in 2017 by a Muslim neighbor who was shouting about Allah as he was killing Haleimi, later crying out, ” I’ve killed the neighborhood monster.” But while French courts accepted that the crime was anti-Semitism, two lower court decisions in 2019 held that the killer could not be tried for murder because he was psychic at the time of the murder – a condition the court concluded that it stemmed from the fact that he was very high on marijuana When he killed Halimi.
“There is a dire need to change the law on criminal irresponsibility,” Dannon named after French President Emmanuel Macron. “We are making significant progress, thanks to the intense work of the Ministry of Justice and parliamentarians.”
“France and Israel have no choice but to fight together against this civilizational menace of anti-Semitic hatred,” he said.
Members of the French Jewish community gather outside the French Embassy in Tel Aviv to call for justice for the late Sarah Halimi, who was murdered by her neighbor at her apartment in Paris, seen on April 25, 2021. (Avshalom Sasoni / Flash 90)
Dannon acknowledged that France and Israel often quarrel over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and UN resolutions, but insisted that “relationships are in good shape.”
Dannon also thanked Israel for vaccinating French diplomatic staff in Israel against the COVID-19 virus.
Speaking in English after the French envoy, Herzog emphasized the “long-lasting friendship between Israel and the French nations” and said he looked forward to meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Israel or France.
“Had Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Acre in 1799, we may have had a way to a Jewish state before 1948,” the president laughed.
“Immortal France! Long live Israel! I have concluded.”
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai receives a knighthood in the French Legion of Honor from Ambassador Eric Dannon on July 14, 2021.
Sa’ar also addressed the crowd appreciating the growing cultural ties between the two countries.
Sa’ar thanked the French government for its “staunch support of the policy of zero tolerance for antisemitism”.
Following the speeches, Dannon awarded a knighthood to the Legion of Honor, France’s highest order of merit, to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.